How to make a talking-head style video BETTER in 4 easy steps.

If I can clarify one point first … I’m not an advocate of using the talking-head style video for a sales video.

They’re GREAT for testimonials.  That being said … let’s move on.

TRANSFORM YOUR TALKING-HEAD VIDEO INTO A POWERHOUSE.

There are four steps to this process.  You’ll see how to do it yourself … or if you’d rather have me do it for you, please let me know.  The best way to reach me is on FACEBOOK.

Step 1.

If you have already recorded your webcam video and there is background noise, the best way to remove the noise is in an audio editing program.  My favorite is Adobe Audition.  Others will do the job just fine.  Select a NOISE REMOVAL TOOL.  Most of the time you’ll find this in the effects plugins.  When removing noise, be careful to always do a BEFORE & AFTER comparison because it’s easy to remove too much noise, and make your audio sound like it’s garbled or under water.  Generally speaking DON’T remove ALL the noise.  Sometimes even a 30% to 50% removal is enough to make it sound significantly better.

Many audio programs will open a video file.  While you can’t edit any of the visuals, it WILL allow you to tweak and edit the soundtrack for your video.

Step 2.

Jim’s new video opens with some MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS from volume 8.  They are available here.  He used a blue background for the video, from the same collection.

These were added to the timeline in a video production program (just about any one will do the trick).

The original (talking-head) video was added to the timeline … this time with the cleaned audio track.

A CALL TO ACTION was selected also (from MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS) and added to the end of the video.

Step 3.

A little high energy music was added.  A 30-second clip through the intro, and the same one was faded back in at the end of the video.  This piece is available at PLR MUSIC.

Though the cleaning of the audio (step 1) was done in an audio editor, the music was added in the video software.

Step 4.

For some customization, Jim added his URL to the bottom of the entire video, and a few CUSTOM MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS.  (Video Elements used in packages can be ordered as a custom edit – YOUR WORDS from an EXISTING TEMPLATE.)

DONE!

Upon completion, the video was checked, and then rendered (output from the video program into a watchable video clip).  From there it can be added to your web site, shared on FaceBook, or uploaded to YouTube.

HERE ARE THE BEFORE & AFTER VIDEOS.

Before:

After:

HOW TO GET YOURS:

Option 1:

If you’re a “do it yourselfer” and want to transform your videos into a powerhouse like this one, you can check out MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS Volume 8.

Option 2:

For three people only … I’ll fix your fix up your video and deliver your transformed version, ready to go.

Or if you aren’t sure where to start – we can start from scratch.  I’ll do it WITH YOU or FOR YOU. (Your choice).

Details here

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Seven Ways to make money from online video marketing In terms of consumer products, we’ve just wrapped up CES 2012, the tradeshow where many of the new gadgets are not only revealed, but where you’ll find out the competition is scoping what everyone else is doing.

Cool New Gear ALWAYS changes things.

In 2012 many are speculating this will be not only the year of the iPad, but the year where handheld and set-top gadgets will unleash a lot of cord-cutting for cable subscribers.

Opportunities exist for many marketers, because most households still do not yet have the tech gadgets that allow cord-cutting to happen.  We’re doing more and more multi-media on our smartphones.

• Mobile video viewers will reach 54.6 million in 2012
• Smartphone video viewers will reach 51.2 million in 2012

So WATCH.  Pay attention to the tech.  The coming year will REVOLUTIONIZE online marketing. 

If you’re not yet full of ideas on how to benefit from this flood of traffic, here are some ideas to get you started.

7 Ways To Make Money From Online Video Marketing:

1.   Learn to make sales videos.  You’ll need to be able to create video anyway, so you might as well learn it NOW.

2.  Build a blog or web site that targets the consumer who is researching methods of connecting their handheld gadgets to their media library (and to their television sets).  This type of site could be monetized with some simple advertising.

3.  Create some HOW-TO videos for YouTube, showing how to set up a home theater system with connectivity to the internet.  This market will EXPLODE this coming year.

4.  Learn Video SEO.  Since a YouTube video ranks QUICKLY into Google’s organic rankings, you can benefit from this yourself as well as make your video seo services available for hire.

5.  Create videos for entertainment.  Silly videos that exist for PURE FUN are often shared are become viral into the hundreds of thousands.   If you’re a YouTube partner, you can earn a share of advertising revenue.

6.  Using video on your squeeze pages increases optin conversions anywhere from 200% to 700%.  But it’s GOT TO be GOOD!

7.  Video Testimonials.  Talking-head style videos (the kind shot by a web cam) offer credibility in the highest form.  Adding these to any of your sales pages will increase sales conversions.  Guaranteed.

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How to make YOUR sales videos GREAT!  Here’s 10 tips for you.

Music used in this video is called Magnitude (c) 2010, Ginny Culp.

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NOT JUST AUDIO!

Television producers have been using motion video loops and elements for years. Ever see those notices that warn about “viewer discretion is advised” etc?

To save time, they don’t make these from scratch.  They use PRE-MADE motion video loops.

And now that many internet marketers are producing their video advertisements, video demos, and video info-products, you’ll find many of these same VIDEO MOTION ELEMENTS in their arsenal of tools too.

MORE INFO

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In recent blog posts, I’ve talked several times about online video.

For several years now it’s been increasing by leaps and bounds … it CONTINUES to do so in 2012.

Here are some more statistics for you.

More info here

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In some recent posts about online, you may have read some compelling statistics. It’s a fact that online video usage has been growing at a staggering pace year and after year. Fact remains, if YOU aren’t using video to share, show, and promote, then you are losing your audience, because they have come to EXPECT it!

How To Create THE MOVIE TRAILER EFFECT

First let’s define what is “the movie trailer effect”.  We can look at this in two ways … first, is the type of visuals and audio that go into producing the perfect movie trailer.  But second, is the desire to run to the movie theater and WATCH the particular movie.  And THAT’s more important.  Am I right?

There are basically four things to keep in mind:

1. Show something interesting that will appeal to a wide audience (help the audience visualize themselves watching that movie … some action scenes and some humor).
2. ALWAYS produce QUALITY WORK.  Now isn’t the time for low resolution pixelated work.  Poor images and audio will turn off your audience quicker than you can imagine.
3. Produce a PREMIUM sound track with music, sound effects (swells, bangs, swooshes etc).  It’s these SOUND EFFECTS that create the tension with the viewer and draw them in.  Once they’re engaged, they will keep their eyeballs glued, right through to the end.
4. Keep it brief.  Generally speaking, video promos should be less than two minutes.  Use the first 30 seconds to tell them WHY they want your fabulous product … and then strike into the exciting fast moving sequences.  Shock and wow them with stunning visuals, and then wrap up, with a CALL TO ACTION.  That’s exactly how the pros do it when they produce a movie trailer.  It always ends with a phrase such as “in theatres xyz date”.

Need some movie trailer sound effects?  Here’s two great collections for your sales and promo videos for online marketers:

AMPED-UP SWELLS

Thick and luscious orchestral and booming audio effects.

AUDIO SHOCKS

Bangs, impacts, and audio motions.

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Do you find Video Marketing an UPHILL BATTLE?

According to Online Video Marketing Statistics, adding video to small business profiles:

• Increases number of business profile views more than 100% (I think that is a conservative estimate)
• Increases number of profile clicks more than 30%
• Increases number of calls generated by more than 18%

Impressive statistics right?  So if that’s your business profile, then what about sales pages and squeeze pages?

In my own experience, I have seen the simple addition of video to a sales page increase sales by 600% or more.  So if these numbers are true, then why doesn’t EVERYONE use video EVERY TIME?

The fact is that video production requires a little more time, thought, tools and skills as opposed to text and graphics alone.  PLUS, I’ve even had comments on this blog where the readers have ASKED for more video.  So yes, I’ll work on that for you

If you’ve never created a video, then you might be wondering where you start.  In my case, I started creating PRODUCED home videos.  In other words, I took the home video we had shot with our digital camcorder, imported it into the computer, did some quick editing, added text overlays, some background music, and voila … a more interesting video to watch.

It’s a great place to start, and of course you can post your videos to facebook and video sharing sites such as youtube (and so forth).  And once you’ve got the hang of it then you can move onto the professional arena of creating a video to demonstrate or promote a product that you’re selling either online or offline.

Video production tools come in two varieties.

• There’s the kind that is software on your computer (sometimes free / sometimes expensive),
• and there are the web sites that generate video FOR YOU.

What categories of video are there?

• Motion video shot from your camcorder or smartphone (later on edited and produced)
• Screen capture videos that allow you to SHOW HOW to achieve XYZ task
• Photo montage videos that are a sequence of stills put to music
• Power point style … one screen after another of text, with a voice over message in the background
• Animated videos

Each of these categories of videos require different tools, different still sets, and of course they have a different purpose.  But in all cases, be sure to use material that YOU OWN, not images, video, or music, that you aren’t licensed to reuse.  If you have created the material yourself … then you’re good to go!

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Do you market in NON-IM niches? Then these audio recordings with transcripts are just for you!

SELF IMPROVEMENT NICHES:

• Self Promotion Squeeze page “audio” included!
• Self Promotion 1 (2:46)
• Self Promotion 2 (2:32)
• Self Promotion 3 (2:44)
• Self Promotion 4 (5:02)
• Goal Setting 1 (4:20)
• Goal Setting 2 (4:42)
• Goal Setting 3 (4:28)
• Goal Setting 4 (3:18)
• Goal Setting 5 (4:04)
• Audio for squeeze page (goal setting)
• Medical Careers 1 (3:28)
• Medical Careers 2 (3:26)
• Medical Careers 3 (3:58)
• Entrepreneur 1 (3:56)
• Entrepreneur 2 (5:40)
• Entrepreneur 3 (3:59)
• Audio for squeeze page (entrepreneur)
• Stress Management Ecourse Introduction audio (1:46)
• Take A Deep Breath 1 (4:34)
• Take A Deep Breath 2 (4:00)
• Take A Deep Breath 3 (4:14)
• Take A Deep Breath 4 (6:04)
• Conclusion audio (1:34)
• Quit Smoking 1 (2:26)
• Quit Smoking 2 (2:06)
• Quit Smoking 3 (2:50)

DATING NICHES: 12 Pack – online dating, and dating after divorce:

• Dating After Divorce 1 (6:28)
• Dating After Divorce 2 (5:26)
• Dating After Divorce 3 (3:50)
• Dating After Divorce 4 (3:30)
• Dating After Divorce 5 (5:38)
• Dating After Divorce – tops for men (4:14)
• Dating After Divorce – tops for women (4:14)
• Online Dating 1 (3:26)
• Online Dating 2 (3:24)
• Online Dating 3 (4:26)
• Online Dating 4 (4:58)
• Audio for squeeze page: dating after divorce

SELF PROMOTION STRATEGIES (included above in the Self Improvement Combo Pack):

• Squeeze page “audio” included!
• Self Promotion 1 (2:46)
• Self Promotion 2 (2:32)
• Self Promotion 3 (2:44)
• Self Promotion 4 (5:02)

Samples of these niche audio recordings – and details about a PLR license.

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It’s a known fact that using audio and video in your online marketing can boost your conversions by 600% or more.  Here’s why:

Television has turned many of us into audio learners.  As a result, when we arrive at a web site with pages upon pages of typing, it looks like WORK to read what’s in front of us.

Enter the age of the Sales Video.  Most sales videos are under 3 minutes.  They start with a snappy music intro, and just like in writing any sales message, you need to grab the attention of your audience.

If your sales video will have a voice over, then your music intro should be short (under 30 seconds).  But in all cases it should be clean, and well-produced, to present your best possible image.  More about launching your product with a sales video.

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Eliminating Noise In Your Voice Over Recording Environment

A common problem that internet marketers run into is that they create an audio or video product … run straight through the recording … and discover in the end that in spite of their hard work that the audio is isn’t the masterpiece they had hoped for.

Most often the causes are room noise (or echoes), noise from interfering equipment, and too much distance between the microphone and the subject.

Sadly once the recording is committed to tape (or nowadays your hard drive), it’s locked in.  Since attempts to remove the background noise or room noise are often not successful, it’s best to eliminate the noise BEFORE you start the recording.
If you have a very large room with lots of ambiance, consider adding a baffle or reflexion filter.  It is positioned behind the microphone and will help you produce a DRY vocal recording.  Alternatively, add a curtain rod close by, and hang a blanket to help isolate you from interfering noises.

All electronics will produce noise ..and the most likely culprit to give you trouble is your computer.  And if you’re recording to it … you can’t turn it off.  The solution is to either isolate it in an insulated cabinet, or to cover it with a heavy blanket when you record.  Most cooling fans make a lot of noise, and they’ll be part of your recording.

Don’t forget … turn off your cell phone … and tell your family “I’m recording.  Please keep the dog quiet and don’t knock on my door.”

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